Across the Fence
by Pliva
Summary: The Master wants revenge. No one's safe, not Donna, not Tom and Martha, not even the Time War itself. Except he's to be focusing his energy on Rose and the other Doctor in the other universe and it's making everyone very worried. Master/Doctor, 10.2/Rose
1. Across the Fence

"Rose Tyler," a voice said from across the yard before chuckling. "Aren't you the little modern girl keeping your last name?"

Rose looked up from where she was playing with her children, Evelyn and James. "Can I help you?"

"Do you really want to?" the man asked, stepping up to the fence. His gaze fell on the children and Rose instinctively moved in front of them.

"Who are you?"

"Where's the Doctor?" the man asked, ignoring her question. His dark coat fluttered in the breeze and Rose knew he had to be boiling under the black suit he had on beneath.

"I'm not telling you until I know who you are," Rose said, narrowing her eyes. She walked over to the fence, not wanting him to have a reason to come closer to the children.

"Harold Saxon," he replied, grinning charmingly as he held out a hand to shake. Rose cautiously took it and wasn't very surprised when he pulled her close. She was, however, surprised at the way he took her chin in his hand and tipped her head from side to side, studying her.

"Oi!" she snapped, trying to wrench out of his grip. "Let go!"

"He's human, isn't he?" Saxon asked.

"What?" Rose growled, still held to the fence by one leather-clad glove.

"The Doctor. He wouldn't have children with you otherwise."

"And why's that?" Rose's sinking feeling grew. How did this man know so much, and where was the Doctor? He had run to the store but he couldn't return fast enough.

"They'd be sterile. Even if species are genetically similar enough to mate their offspring would be sterile. The Doctor wouldn't want that."

"How would you know what he wanted?" Rose asked. "Tell me who you are, and I don't mean just your name."

"I don't know _this_ Doctor," Saxon said, releasing her hand with a shrug. "I only know the original. This universe isn't my home."

"But…" Rose trailed off and her eyes grew wide. "You're from home?"

"Your original universe, not your home planet. Mine's gone."

"Where are you from?" Rose asked with a frown.

Saxon smiled. "Gallifrey."

"You're a Time Lord!" Rose gasped. "But that's impossible! The Doctor's the only one left!"

"Not quite," the man's smile turned bitter. "He didn't tell you about me, did he? Oh, we've met recently. I brought about the end of his run with Martha Jones."

"He'd mention another Time Lord. He misses them," Rose protested.

"He wouldn't tell you about me. Do you know who I am?"

"Not Saxon, then." Rose frowned before shaking her head again. "Look, I don't care. Why are you here?"

The Time Lord looked at her thoughtfully before replying. "We grew up together."

"What?" Rose asked, startled.

"The Doctor and I. We graduated from the Academy together. We had our whole lives planned out. Traveling forever…" His look sharpened, settling squarely on her. "What makes you so important, Rose Tyler? Why would _he_ fall in love with _you?"_

"Get off my property," Rose grit out, glaring at him. "Go away and never come back."

"Why, so you can pretend this never happened?" he sneered. "You don't even believe I'm a Time Lord do you?"

"Don't have a stethoscope on me, sorry." He only began to smile in response, and Rose began to back away nervously. He leaned forward and grabbed her across the fence until she was pressed up against it and he took her head in his hands.

"There are other ways of telling if I'm a Time Lord," he murmured across her lips before kissing him. He tasted ancient and young, of distant worlds and an endless horizon. He tasted like the Doctor used to before he became human. Rose pushed him away quickly, smacking him across the face,

"What ever issues you have with the Doctor in the other universe you can deal with it there!" she shouted. "Leave me and my family bloody well alone!"

"Rose? I heard you shouting. Anything wrong?" the Doctor called, turning the corner around the street. He saw the Master and shock rippled across his face. He dropped the grocery bags and bolted over, tearing the Master away from the fence.

"You," he growled as he held the Master by his coat, eyes flashing. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Seeing the domestic life the real Doctor overlooked," the Master replied pleasantly before glancing over at their two children who had stopped their game to watch the adults. "I can see why. Not very pretty little crotch droppings, are they?"

Rose gasped in anger as the Doctor sent him sprawling with a punch, ignoring the pain in his knuckles.

"I'll kill you, Master," he warned. "Come back and I will kill you."

The Master carefully got up from the ground. "Why come back? I've seen all I need to."

Rose reached for the Doctor's hand as the Master turned and began to walk down the road.

"Doctor…?" she whispered under her breath.

"He's leaving, Rose," the Doctor assured her. "There's nothing for him here."

As if he heard them, the Master turned around again. He shouted across the road "Best of wishes in the years ahead!" before turning a corner and disappearing from their sight. Distantly they head the sound of a TARDIS dematerializing,

"Did he do anything?" the Doctor asked. Rose thought briefly of the kiss, of how it reminded her of the other Doctor. The Time Lord Doctor.

"No," she replied as the Doctor drew her into a tight hug. She clung to his back and blinked back tears. She didn't know who the Master was but she knew he wasn't up to any good.

"He's probably gone. There's nothing for him here. He'll return to the other universe," the Doctor promised.

"Yeah, yeah," Rose nodded distractedly before she glanced at the abandoned bags. "You might want to pick those up. James'll have nightmares if he doesn't have milk tonight."

The Doctor smiled softly and nodded before he turned around to retrieve the bags. Rose bit her lips and drummed her fingers against the wood of the fence. She still had the feeling something was wrong.

"Who was that, Mummy?" Evelyn asked, tugging on Rose's shirt.

"No one, sweetie," Rose replied, bending down to kiss her on the head. As Evelyn ran off to play with James she leaned against the fence, feeling slightly better. Her fingers continued to tap against the fence. She looked down at them, thinking the pattern was almost like a drumbeat. She watched the Doctor unpack the bags through the kitchen window and laughed as her children tumbled around in the glass and put the strange man out of her mind.

He was gone. He couldn't ruin their perfect life.

Her fingers absentmindedly continued to tap against her thigh.


	2. Across the Bar

Donna Noble wasn't exactly a hard partier. Sure , she enjoyed them. She drank more than one was necessary, and she did have some spectacular nights in her past. Going to the pub every night was new, though. Lately she had been having horrible headaches and a general sense of missing something. A great, huge, cosmic something that she couldn't remember. Things had been better, though, ever since she met that new bartender.

"You look horrible, Donna," Harry Smith said as the red head flopped onto the barstool.

"I had another bad day," she said with a groan, hitting her head against the counter.

"What was it this time?" he asked sympathetically.

"Dreams," Donna explained, waving a hand in the air. "Filled with bees and wasps and giant spiders. I think it's cosmos telling me to fumigate the flat again."

"Yes, Donna, the Universe wants to make sure you don't have any earwigs in your bathroom," Harry teased.

"Oi, that was one time!" Donna snapped. "I didn't tell you that to be mocked!"

Harry grinned. "I don't know why you trust me with anything. It's been, what, three months?"

"You have a trusting face. Reminds me of the ex-PM, but everyone trusted him didn't they?" Donna squinted at Harry before wincing as a wave of pain roared through her head.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked, eyes flickering.

"Just another one of my headaches," Donna replied, closing her eyes until the pain passed. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"Do you trust me, Donna?" Harry asked, sounding serious.

"What? Of course I do. Why?" Donna asked, frowning slightly. Some instinct, somewhere deep inside her, told her that the answer should have been no. But that made absolutely no sense because Harry had never been anything but charming. He had listened to all of her problems and helped her through more than a few of them.

"My shift gets done in ten minutes. Meet me out back?"

"Harry," Donna sighed. "I'm not looking for a relationship. After Lance was killed by that Christmas Star…"

"Donna, it's not a date. I want to show you something. Platonically," he added, seeing the look on her face. She looked at Harry's innocent smile, his crisp white shirt flopping untucked over black pants and sighed.

"Fine, but you're paying for drinks tomorrow," Donna agreed with a sigh before turning away, making a quick call to Granddad so he wouldn't worry.

"You be careful, Donna," told her before she hung up and Donna rolled her eyes. Him and Mum had been jumpy lately. They wouldn't even let her watch the news, claiming they were tired of all the alien coverage.

"Donna!" Harry called from further down the alley. Donna walked over to him, glancing at the tall blue box he was standing next to.

"A police box?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "You wanted to show me an antique?"

"Not an antique, Donna," he said. "Look familiar?"

"No." Donna eyed him suspiciously. "If you try to kiss me I am going to slug you."

"Go inside," said Harry, holding the door open. Donna rolled her eyes and obeyed, wanting to get it over with so she could leave. She walked through the doors and stopped, dumbfounded. She was in a small black room with a few red couches along the corner and a tall grey panel in the center covered in buttons with a long tube in the center running up into the ceiling.

"Getting anything yet?" Harry asked, closing the door and coming to stand beside her. "No? Nothing?"

"What?" Donna asked, frowning at him. He sighed and walked over to the round panel in the center of the room.

"Maybe this will help," he said, pushing some buttons. "I'll set the desktop to Coral."

And then Donna Noble remembered Everything.

It blindsided her, all the memories rushing back with one swoop, leaving her eyes watering and her mind burning.

"What the bloody hell was that for!?" she shrieked at the man she now knew to the Master. "My brain can't support the Doctor's mind!"

The Master gave her a dirty look. "You remember my face but you don't remember my brilliance. Well, at least it tells me what the Doctor thinks about."

"Well what are you planning to do?" Donna demanded, gasping as another neuron in her head misfired. The Master flicked a switch on the console and Donna looked up to see the Chameleon circuit dangling above her head.

"It'll hurt," he said, taking a silver locket out of his pocket and plugging it into the machine, "But it's less painful than dying."

He was right and Donna knew it. She grabbed the helmet and shoved it on her head, bracing herself as the Master hit the switch.

Her world dissolved into blinding hot pain and she knew she was screaming.

Then it was over and the Master was gently sliding it off her head before handing her the locket.

"Your human consciousness is in there. Be careful with it."

Donna grabbed it out of his hand, glaring. "What is this all about?"

"What?" the Master asked innocently.

"I have the Doctor's memories of you," she reminded him. "I know you're not doing this to be nice. What do you expect me to do?"

"You know the Doctor's dealt with the Chameleon Circuit recently," the Master began, walking over to one of the coral pillars and retrieving his black suit coat and tie. "He remembered it. Why didn't he use this solution instead of wiping your memory?"

"I only have his memories from before the metacrises was created, not after," Donna snapped.

"Because," the Master explained, watching her, "He likes to run away from his problems. He doesn't deal with any of them. Not me, not you, not Rose."

"Rose?" Donna asked, suddenly feeling uncertain.

"Oh, yes," the Master waved a hand. "I paid a visit to her earlier. The point is he wants to run away. I want him to have to deal with them."

"Why?" asked a very suspicious Donna.

"Because he never has to pay for his actions," the Master hissed, a crazed light coming to his eyes. "Just once he should finish what he started. See that he can't run away all the time and still act like the solitary hero."

"Where do Rose and I come in?"

"Rose was someone he… chose to love. He knew that she wanted him, but he didn't want to be tied down to one place forever. What does he do? Kill two birds with one stone. He gets rid of his metacrises by handing him off."

"He was giving them a happy ending!" Donna protested.

The Master snorted. "Hardly. If he loved her, he wouldn't have forced her to stay with him. He left forever, didn't he? It was human or bust. He can't hold on to love for too long. He get's bored."

The last few words were especially bitter, and Donna filed away the memories that flew up to look at later.

"You want me to help you punish the Doctor for moving on?" Donna scowled. "Not bloody likely. I'm not going to help you start anything."

"I already took care of Rose," the Master replied with a smirk. "It was pathetically easy."

"I don't know what you're planning," Donna said after a pause when the Master looked at her expectantly, "But I'm not helping."

"Donna, I suggest you reconsider," the Master warned, his eyes darkening. "I haven't forgotten that you're part of the Doctor."

Donna fingered the pen in her pocket. "You brought me here just to kill me?"

"Not with that purpose," the Master said, drawing his laser screwdriver out of his pocket. "But having you as a… guest might help me gain leverage against the Doctor."

"You know what the problem with completely Time Lord brains is?" Donna asked, tensing. "You can't be creative. I mean, the Doctor was good at getting out of these situations, but I bet he'd never do this!"

Donna slammed the pen down, wedging it into a tiny but disruptive gap. Sparks flew out of the console and the Master was forced to reach for the controls. Donna turned and threw her weight against the door, bolting out across the alley as it gave way. She turned down a number of streets until she was sure the Master couldn't find her easily. She paused in an alley, leaning against a wall as she caught her breath. Inwardly she cursed in English and another few languages she didn't quite understand before stifling a scream.

She needed to get to Rose and find out exactly what the Master did.

She needed to find the Doctor before the Master did.

"The cell phone!" Donna realized, remembering the small device that always lay on the console. She wracked her brain before groaning as she realized the Doctor had never bothered to learn the numbers. Right then, new plan.

She needed to find Martha Jones.


	3. Across the Street

**A/N: Well, here we are. This is turning into a full fledged fic. How in the world did that happen? Please R&R**

Martha Jones had had a good day. Mum and Dad were getting along well with Tom, something that wasn't always easy. The four of them had gone out to lunch together, working on wedding plans. Martha was still trying to convince her mum that while money wasn't much of an issue with her UNIT pension, they still wanted to have a small wedding with only close friends and family.

"Martha?" Tom called from the kitchen, staring the window.

"Yeah?" Martha replied, coming to stand beside him, trying to see what caught his attention. Donna Noble was pacing the sidewalk across the street, muttering to herself as she looked at all the houses in confusion. "Oh, it's Donna!"

"You know her, then?" Tom asked, looking at Martha's surprised smile with fond amusement.

"She's a friend," Martha explained, already reaching for her sweater to guard against the cool night air.

"Oh, that kind of friend. She doesn't look polished enough for UNIT. I could see her getting along with your Jack, though, is she one of his?" Tom asked good naturedly, long used to Martha's profession.

"One of the Doctor's actually," Martha replied, causing Tom to glance back at Donna with raised eyebrows. He knew all about the Doctor and wanted to meet him someday. After all, they might never have met if it weren't for the Doctor.

"Donna?" Martha called after opening the door. Light spilled onto the road and Martha blinked, trying to focus on Donna's shape as her eyes adjusted to the dark.

"I am on the right street!" Donna said, walking quickly to the stoop. "I really couldn't tell. I'm going off his memories, you know. They're disturbingly clear and frustratingly vague at the same time."

"Come inside," Martha offered, holding open the door. She saw Donna's slightly harried expression and frowned. "Something's wrong."

It wasn't a question, and Donna knew it. "Yeah, long story. What I really need is the Doctor's phone number. Or, your old mobile's actually. And, sorry to barge in like this, can I use your phone?"

"Where's the Doctor?" Martha asked, glancing down the street behind her.

"Well…" Donna paused, looking uncertain for a moment. "I don't actually know. That's why I need to call. I haven't seen him since the night we saved the world. Or, the last time I saved the world anyway, I don't know if he's done it again by now."

"You sound just like him," Martha observed with a small smile. "Part of the DoctorDonna thing, yeah?"

"Right, exactly," Donna smiled at her again but it was strained. "So, mobile?"

"Of course, it's right through here," Martha led her to the kitchen and made a quick introduction to Tom before dialing the phone and handing it to Donna.

"Hello, Doctor!" Donna said cheerfully into the phone, wincing slightly as a shout came through it. "Oi! I need that ear, thanks. Yes, I'm fine! Memory's back, yeah, but I'm not burning or anything. He fixed it." She paused, listening to what the Doctor said with a frown. "It doesn't really matter who he is. Well, yeah it kind of does but- Listen, this is important! Pick me up at Martha's. Same place it was last time. Bit of an emergency, yeah. What?" Donna's eyes narrowed and she scowled. "Doctor, you are coming right now. No, that's not an issue anymore. I promise! Can't really go into that now…" she trailed off, glancing at Martha. Martha didn't like that look one bit. Donna was hiding something. "Look, I'm telling you the date and the time. You better be here before I've even hung up the phone!"

"Do I get to meet him?" Tom asked, leaning against the doorframe as Donna rattled off the essential information.

"Maybe, if there's not disaster looming," Martha replied, taking the phone back from Donna. "Is there disaster looming?"

"Not for you," Donna replied after a second's hesitation. "Well, a little?"

Martha raised an eyebrow. "You're not telling me something."

"And I am doing a great job of it, too," Donna said with a forced laugh as she stood up. "You really don't want to know, trust me."

"Donna, you show up on my doorstep at nine o'clock at night. You ring the Doctor and have to convince him to pick you up. I really do want to know."

"Not right now, you don't," Donna insisted before she sighed and looked away. "Sorry, I can't balance very well between the Doctor's mind an my own. I'm still not used to it. If I sound a little fuzzy, that's why."

"Donna," Martha began slowly, "What don't I want to know?"

Donna looked at her, her eyes suddenly very old and Martha realized why Donna needed the Doctor. "There's nothing you can do."

"You're scaring me," Martha said quietly, causing Tom to come to full attention.

"Everything okay?" he warily asked the two women.

Donna nodded at him before returning her attention to Martha. "The minute this is over I will find a way to tell you."

"What's so scary that I can't know about it?" Martha demanded, thinking back to what Donna said on the phone.

Doubt danced across Donna's face and she hesitantly opened her mouth, but the sound of a TARDIS materializing in Martha's front hall interrupted her. Donna quickly passed Martha and was at the TARDIS as the door swung open.

"Donna!" the Doctor exclaimed in surprise, staring at the woman like she was a ghost. "How did you get your memory back?"

"You lost your memory?" Martha repeated, shocked. "How did that happen?"

"Sorry, we don't have time," Donna replied, pushing the Doctor back into the TARDIS. "Emergency, we've got to run."

"You can't just go off like that!" Martha protested as Donna stepped into the TARDIS and quickly shut the door. "I can't believe after all that she's just running off!"

"They don't seem to be making the fastest getaway," Tom said, staring at the unmoving TARDIS. As if on cue, the door swung open again and Donna poked her head out, looking guilty.

"Right, sorry. We'll be back, soon as we're done. And Martha?"

"Yeah?" she replied, fighting down the panic as Donna's face became serious and grim.

"Call us at the first sign of trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Martha asked slowly.

"You'll know," Donna said quietly before shutting the door. The TARDIS dematerialized, the sounding filling the apartment.

"He was easier to push around than I expected," Tom said, trying to make Martha laugh. When he failed he pulled her into his arms. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Martha said with a shaky sigh. "Tea?"

"That'd be lovely," Tom murmured into her hair. They stepped into the kitchen as they heard the TARDIS materializing again, this time in the den.

"Solved it already?" Martha asked, shaking her head in relief, turning back towards the hallway as they heard the TARDIS door open. "Well, at least they didn't make us wait very long. I wonder what the problem was?"

"The problem, Miss Jones," the smooth voice that haunted Martha's dreams announced as it cut through the apartment, "Is that the Doctor and Donna Noble are far too predictable."

"It can't be," Martha gasped before she twisted in Tom's arms, scrambling for the phone. It exploded as she reached for it and she turned to see the Master lowering his laser screwdriver.

He smiled at her expectantly. "I love reunions, don't you?"


	4. Across the Divide

Rose was dreaming again. Her eyes flickered underneath their lids and her breath was short and panicked. The Doctor watched her silently, worried. Her bad dreams had been getting worse lately, ever since the Master visited almost a year ago. The Doctor wished he could put it out of his mind but he knew that wasn't possible. At first he had hoped the Master was attempting some form of closure since he didn't do anything to his family. But Rose had become distant lately. The Doctor still remembered how he came home five months ago to Evelyn and James sitting in front of the television with Rose nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Mummy?" he had asked them with a frown. James looked up at him with thoughtful brown eyes.

"Gone," he replied.

Evelyn pointed at the television. "She's been gone for three shows.

The Doctor's eyebrows rose in surprise. Rose would never leave the children alone for more then five minutes, and now she had been gone for over an hour. The Doctor turned towards the phone so he could call her mobile but the front door open and Rose entered with a store-bought cake in her hands.

"I brought dessert," she announced, smiling at the cheers she got from James and Evelyn.

"Rose," the Doctor began slowly, following her into the kitchen so the children couldn't hear, "Why did you leave them home alone?"

Rose frowned as she set the cake on the counter. "I didn't. I called Mrs. Hutchinson from across the street to look after them. Jeanie called me in tears so I rushed out to the coffee shop to meet her, but I know I called her first. You didn't send her home when you got here?"

The Doctor shook his head. "What did she say when she arrived?"

"I only called her on the phone before I left," Rose said, chewing her lower lip nervously. "She said she had to finish her tea but she'd be right over. Jeanie was sobbing so I left."

The Doctor turned back to the den as Rose picked up the phone. "Evelyn, did Mrs. Hutchinson come here after your mother left?"

"No," Evelyn replied with a shake of her head.

"There's no answer at her house," Rose whispered, looking through the window at the little house across the street.

"Evelyn?" the Doctor asked his daughter, waiting until she was looking at him to continue. "Mum and I are just popping across the street. If you need us, call Mummy's cell. Do you remember the numbers?"

"Yup," Evelyn replied proudly. She was her father's daughter, after all.

"Do you think something happened to her?" Rose asked worriedly as they crossed the street, the Doctor knocking on the door before trying the handle.

"It's unlocked," the Doctor replied, the foreboding he had felt since he arrived home tripling. He pushed the door open to find Mrs. Hutchinson's body lying on the floor, her coat half on.

"Oh my god!" Rose cried, crouching down next to her as the Doctor checked her pulse. "Is she alive?"

"No…" the Doctor replied, looking up and down the old woman's body.

"Did she have a heart attack?" Rose asked, already pulling out her mobile to call the emergency services.

"I-" the Doctor's fingers came away from her scalp covered in blood and he tilted his head to get a better look. "No. She was struck by a blunt instrument."

Rose's eyes widened. "Murdered?" The Doctor stood up and quickly looked around her house while Rose made the call.

"Nothing's been taken," he announced as she hung up, running a hand through his hair. "Even if it was a burglar, why would they attack her when she was obviously leaving?"

"Poor woman," Rose whispered, reaching for the Doctor for a hug. After a moment she ran back across the street to watch James and Evelyn, emerging only to give the police her statement.

The Doctor shook his thoughts away as Rose suddenly sat upright, a terrified whimper escaping her lips.

"Bad dream?" he asked, rubbing her shoulders calmly as her eyes becoming clear as the nightmare faded.

"Yeah. Daleks again," she replied in a tired voice. She leaned back into the Doctor's arms, taking one of his hands in hers. "Trying to take over yet another world." The Doctor could only offer his wife a small kiss on the top of her forehead and tightened his arms around her.

"Better than the last dream, I suppose," she said with a shaky sigh. "Least the kids weren't there. Just faceless people running as they defeated the Crucible."

The Doctor's face paled and he stared at Rose in dawning horror. "What did they defeat?"

"The Crucible," she repeated with a yawn, her eyes beginning to close again.

"Rose, do you know what the Crucible is?" he asked slowly and her brows furrowed for a moment as she tried to remember,

"It's a play, isn't? Funny thing for the Daleks to destroy," she murmured drowsily. "But no, this time it was a- well, it was a ship I think. Or a space station, I couldn't really tell."

"Funny thing for the Daleks to destroy," the Doctor echoed softly. Rose drifted back into sleep, but the Doctor couldn't close his eyes for the rest of the night.

~*~

"Donna?" the Doctor asked as she set the TARDIS into orbit, "How can you remember? I- you shouldn't be alive right now, a human mind can't support a Time Lord consciousness!"

"Yeah," Donna said with a shaky laugh. "A human mind can't."

"Then how-" Donna wordlessly pointed at the necklace round her throat and the Doctor's eyes widened. "That's a capsule for a Chameleon Circuit."

"Yup," Donna replied, popping the 'p'. "He used the one in his TARDIS."

"He?" the Doctor repeated. "Who?"

"Who do you think?" Donna replied rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry but… Doctor, the Master's alive."

The Doctor gaped at her wordlessly, his face going pale.

"And I know what that means. I've got your memories, so I really do know. But-"

"What do you mean he's back?" the Doctor said, his voice sounding chocked. "How?"

"I don't know, I didn't wait for him to tell me," Donna replied. "I wasn't there for very long so I couldn't ask any questions."

"Why didn't you ask?" the Doctor hissed, sounding furious but Donna could see the confusion and fear in his eyes.

"I was a little distracted after he said he'd visited Rose!" Donna explained and the Doctor's fear turned into panic.

"What did he do?" he demanded, taking a step closer to Donna. "Donna, what did he do?"

"I don't know," Donna said quietly. "But it's not good. We need to find her."

"We can't exactly punch another hole through the Universe, Donna," the Doctor snapped, but he sounded more tempted then angry.

"We just need to find the one the Master used," Donna replied quickly, marching over the TARDIS's console so she could check the screen.

"He could have gone anywhere Donna," the Doctor protested. "I could think of fifty places it could theoretically be done. Forty-nine not counting the Medusa Cascade."

Donna stared at him. "Why not the Medusa Cascade?"

"It's the Master, Donna. He'd know that would be the first place we'd look, considering it was the last place I used to get through."

"Exactly!" Donna cried. "Doctor, don't you see? He's not trying to get away with this! He wants you to find Rose. If he had really wanted to stop me from telling his plans there's no way I could have gotten away as easily as I did. He wants you to find him."

"I-" the Doctor stopped before swinging the screen around to his side of the console. "Donna, help me pilot!"

They arrived at the Medusa Cascade in a matter of seconds and Donna hunched over besides the Doctor to get a look at the readings.

"Look," she said, pointing. "There's a tiny hole, right there. Just big enough to get a TARDIS through."

"What's holding it open, though?" the Doctor asked, his brow furrowing. "Keeping that stable would take massive amounts of energy, how can he- No."

"What?" Donna asked, seeing the horror in the Doctor's face.

"He's using the Time War," the Doctor said quietly, his eyes wide in shock.

"The Time War?" Donna repeated, staring at the screen. "How can he- No."

"The time lock around the Time War is like a perpetual motion machine," the Doctor said, closing his eyes. "It's like a film around it with energy moving throughout the film. The movement created by the energy produced more energy, which loops back in. He's drawing out power to keep the hole open."

"But," Donna stared at the Doctor. "That will destabilize the time lock. It's already weakened by Davros and the Daleks, if he draws much more energy…"

"One of three things will happen," the Doctor finished quietly. "Either the time lock will break and the Time War will unfreeze, the time lock will draw energy from surrounding matter to support itself, or it'll collapse."

"That'll create a massive black hole." Donna stared blankly at the screen. "It'll swallow everything in the Universe inside in minutes."

The Doctor's eyes opened again, his age showing as he looked at Donna. "Why did he do this?"

"I don't know," Donna replied too quickly.

"Donna," the Doctor repeated, his voice dark. "Why?"

Donna looked at the floor before she spoke. "He wanted to punish you. For… leaving."

"All this for something that happened so long ago?" the Doctor asked harshly, his voice breaking. His face hardened, horror replaced by cold fury.

"Alons-y," he said, but there was no joy in his voice. Donna stepped up to the console and they traveled through the hole the Master created in silence.


	5. Across the Boundary

**A/N: Yes, I live. I'm just a little tired. Theater, I love you but you do kick my ass sometimes. This chapter has been bugging me for so long, and the next one is even worse. The Master is being just as cryptic about his end game with me as he is with everyone else!**

* * *

The street was empty. Only a few lonely cars broke the silence as they drove past the house with the picket fence. Rose sighed and turned away from the window to take the kettle off the stove. The Doctor was late again. If Rose didn't know him better she'd think he was avoiding her. Maybe he was. He had been acting strange ever since the Master visited almost a year ago and she never did get him to explain all of the Master's cryptic remarks.

The front door opened and Rose eagerly flew to the hallway.

"You," she hissed. Instead of seeing the Doctor take off his coat she found the Master calmly removing his black leather gloves.

"Me," the Master agreed. "The same person it always is. We've been through this hundreds of times."

"What are you talking about?" Rose demanded, trying to block the doorway where the children were.

"We have work to do, Rose," the Master said, smiling expectantly when Rose's eyes glazed over and a distant smile appeared on her face.

"Oh," she said. "Right. Hello Master."

The Master easily moved past her into the living room. James was playing with the new car set they had bought him for his birthday and Evelyn was curled up on the sofa with a book. They both looked up at the Master and smiled.

"Master!" James cried, getting up and running to him. His tiny arms circled around the Master's legs and the Master patted him gently on the head.

"James. Do you two want to help your mother and I surprise your father?"

"Daddy loves surprises!" James cried, eagerly bouncing up and down. "I wanna help!"

"Why don't we go into the den and hide quietly?" the Master suggested. "When he comes home we'll jump out and yell 'surprise!'"

"Sounds like fun," Rose said, her face maintaining her blissfully oblivious smile.

"Oh it will be," the Master replied before pulling a small vial out of his pocket. "Be a love and put this in his tea."

"Will it hurt him?" Rose asked, doubt beginning to worm its way into the pleasant fog surrounding her senses.

"He'll just sleep," the Master said, putting a finger to her temple and sending another mental suggestion for good measure. "He looks like he needs a good rest."

"A good rest," Rose repeated, once again under the Master's control. The Master turned to the front window as headlights flashed across it and the family car pulled into the driveway.

"Let's hide," the Master told the two children and guided them to the den. They went willingly and the Master smiled. This was going to be _fun._

_--_

It had been such a long day. This universe's Torchwood was just as trigger-happy as the Jack's but they didn't have a leader with the same noble ambitions. He was finally beginning to get them to use guns as a last resort and not a reflex, but it was an uphill battle.

He opened the door and was more than relieved to see Rose waiting for him, smiling warmly with two cups of tea.

"I saw on the telly the thing with the fish," she told him. "Thought you might want some rest. I sent the kids to Mum's for the night."

"You are amazing," the Doctor told her gratefully, allowing her to guide him into the living room and press a cup of tea into his head. He took a long drink, the warm liquid soothing as it went down his throat. Rose sat next to him on the sofa, smiling. He frowned, noting the distant look in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked, putting his cup down as it seemed to get very heavy. "Sorry for what?"

"Surprise!" he heard and turned to see James and Evelyn eagerly jumping out from the hallway, the Master behind him.

"I've come to visit!" the Master announced, cheerfully waving his hands like he was an old friend. Well, a welcome old friend.

"Get out," the Doctor hissed. He quickly jumped up only to find the world move from underneath his feet. He heard James and Evelyn worriedly ask "Daddy?" before he felt the Master's hands pushing him back down onto the couch.

"Careful, Doctor. I had Rose add a little something extra to your tea."

"What did you do?" the Doctor demanded, testing each of his limbs only to find them growing heavy.

"It won't kill you. I used a drug strictly human-friendly." The Master continued to smile before feigning surprise. "Oh, did you mean about hypnotizing Rosie here and befriending your children? I can't tell you that, it'll ruin the ending."

"Don't you dare lay a hand on them," the Doctor hissed.

"I have been nothing but lovely to your little rugrats. Couldn't even if I wanted to. Okay, that's a lie. I could, but then Rose's little maternal instincts would override any hypnotic control I have over here and that would just be counterproductive."

"I'm going to stop you," the Doctor promised, growing alarmed as his speech began to slur.

"No, you won't. My issue is not with you. I am aiming for the real Doctor. You're just as wronged by him as anyone else in this room, being forced to take the slow path and be domestic." The Master took an envelope out of his pocket and placed it on the side table next to him. "This is for the Doctor. Have him read it when you wake up."

"You can't-" The Doctor struggled against his eyelids as they began to close.

"The Doctor must follow all my instructions carefully. I know other people's well being doesn't exactly factor into many of his decisions, but maybe this once he'll do the right thing."

"What's wrong with Daddy?" Evelyn's face swam on the edge of his vision as he desperately turned to look at Rose.

"He's just going to sleep," Rose's voice said.

"Nighty-night," was the last thing the Doctor heard before the darkness claimed him, the Master's voice ringing in his ears.


End file.
